1940's Medicine and Health | Hill-Burton Act

Law

By: U.S. Congress

Date: August 13, 1946

Source: Hill-Burton Act, August 13, 1946. Available at the Schiller Institute online at http://www.schillerinstitute.org/health/hill_burton.html; website home page at http://www.schilerinstitute.org (accessed March 18, 2003).

Introduction

In 1800, the United States had two hospitals: New York Hospital in New York City and Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Before the days of antiseptic, or anti-infection, procedures, contagion in hospitals could pose a danger greater than disease or injury. Patients were looked after at home by families and physicians who spent a good deal of their time making house calls. By the beginning of the twentieth century, however, more people began to turn to hospital care for a number...